I may have mentioned it in my other Jag Panzer review, but just in case you missed that, Jag Panzer released their fucking classic debut Ample Destruction in 1984 then fucked off for a decade only to return with the disastrous Dissident Alliance. They course corrected on the third album but more was happening during those ten years of silence. Like the album Chain of Command, originally intended to be released in 1988 but “circumstances” prevented that until it saw the light of day in 2004.

This is like an alternate dimension Jag Panzer. The iconic voice of Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin is missing. Instead vocal duties are handled well enough by Bob Parduba. While he’s no Tyrant, his voice is a bit more melodic with more classic range, which fits fairly well with the more mainstream, polished metal that band goes for on this album. It’s not nearly the in your face, aggressive, power metal as the debut and would have been a weird way to follow up that album, but since it never really did we have it now, out of context to look back at what Jag Panzer could have been. I mean, there’s a fucking “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” cover on this one. Mercifully they didn’t do the whole song but it helps illustrate how bizarre the shift would have been. Thing is, it’s not a bad album either. There’s some killer solos and guitar work, a more melodic angle for the band and Parduba has some chops. I prefer the Jag Panzer we have now but this is a curious look into what could have been.